32
The alterations of the bedrooms at The Templar were making good progress. Together, Daniel and Christie had painted all but two, which were currently occupied. Daniel had moved out of his large family room and into the smallest at the back, which happened to be next door to Christie’s. It had felt a little strange hearing each other potter about at night, only a wall apart. Dermot, making the most of the situation, often teased Christie, asking how her “next door neighbour” was, whilst chuckling under his breath. As predicted, they had both agreed easily on the colours of the rooms whilst studying the many charts containing every possible shade.
‘Nothing too dark, we want a sense of space,’ advised Daniel, flicking through the brochures Christie had collected.
‘Definitely, how about this Aged Ivory?’
‘Yeah, that’ll give a real rich, warm feeling.’ Then he pointed to a page he had open. ‘What about Piermint Green, for a fresh, spring look?’
‘Love it – that would go lovely with this fabric.’ She bent down to pick up a material swatch. ‘What do you think?’
‘Good, matches well.’
‘I’m going to make the curtains.’ Christie had decided to try and make savings wherever possible.
‘Hmm, I’d go for fabric blinds, sit them in the window, again giving more space. Plus, you’d be using less material.’
Christie looked at the heavy curtains draped either side of the small bedroom window. They were in one of the rooms at the rear of the property, which gave panoramic views of the lush, jade hills. It did seem a shame to cover the sides of the window with fussy curtains instead of leaving it open to take advantage of the stunning scenery.
‘You’re right. Again.’ She grinned, so glad of his input.
Christie had thoroughly enjoyed working with Daniel these past few days and knew she’d miss him terribly once the bedrooms were finished. She also knew he was eager to start work on Keeper’s Cottage and was pleased for him. Part of her wanted him to stop longer at The Templar, and had half hoped he’d extend his stay whilst working on his cottage; but that wasn’t his intention. Daniel’s parents didn’t live too far away and it made sense for him to stay there, especially when he had Emily. Also, Daniel was keen to live on site at some point. His parents owned a campervan, which he intended to use during the week, when he didn’t have Emily.
Christie had learnt a lot about Daniel during their time working together. Snippets about his ex-partner often crept into his conversation and from what she’d gathered, she didn’t like the sound of her. Daniel, despite his easy-going outward appearance, was in fact a troubled man under the surface, Christie had come to realise. It was blatantly obvious how much he loved his daughter and the effect it had on him when separated from her. He was also successful in his career. That didn’t surprise her, when seeing how creative and motivated he was. The fact Daniel had branched out to form his own business, and was making a huge success of it, reflected on the man himself. It also sadly left him open to others taking advantage.
Christie admired the way he provided for Emily, but couldn’t help thinking how his ex was coining in. From what she’d gleaned, Daniel’s house was actually providing a roof over Emily’s mum and boyfriend, without either of them paying him a penny. Then she realised that technically, The Templar was half Stephen’s too and an uncomfortable sensation swept over her.
‘I promised myself some time off work to find a home and get settled,’ Daniel had explained one afternoon whilst busy moving furniture. ‘I’ve just completed quite a big project with a regular client and he wants me to start another in a few months’ time, so it’s worked out well.’ He’d told Christie about the outbuilding at Keeper’s Cottage and his plans to transform it into a studio to work in.
Whilst Christie was happy for him, she couldn’t help but wonder about Emily and exactly how she fit in. When Daniel first arrived at The Templar he’d mentioned looking for schools for her. Would she no longer be living with her mum? It was all a little confusing, but Christie obviously couldn’t pry about such personal matters. She longed to know more about him, but sensed he was restricting himself in some way, which she slightly resented, given what she had disclosed about her and Stephen that night of the play.
One night, through the dividing bedroom wall, she swore she heard Daniel crying. Startled, she pressed her ear to the wall. Yes, he definitely was, making Christie frown with dismay. It was a bit frustrating; one minute they were rubbing along easily, laughing and enjoying each other’s company, then out of the blue, he would turn introvert and go quiet on her, deep in thought, as though he had the worries of the world on his shoulders. It was those times that Christie wanted to ask him, let him open up to her, about what was troubling him. Once or twice she suspected he’d come close to telling her, but no, he’d suddenly clam up or change the subject. With only having two more rooms to paint, Christie knew she was running out of time.
Dermot interrupted her thoughts as he stuck his head round the bedroom door.
‘This is looking good. Well done, the pair of you.’ Christie smiled, pleased he was coming round to the idea of her renovating the bedrooms.
‘Any chance of a cuppa, Dermot? We’re dying of thirst here,’ asked Daniel as he rolled the walls with Elephant’s Breath paint. Bits had splattered on his face.
‘Will you just look at yourselves,’ cried Dermot, noticing Christie too was covered in splashes of paint. ‘Finish up here, and I’ll have a nice dinner for two waiting for you both. You deserve it.’
Daniel eyed Christie. He couldn’t think of anything better than an evening sat opposite this beautiful woman.
‘Sounds good to me, Dermot,’ he replied, then arched an eyebrow at Christie.
‘Me too. Dermot, you’re on. Give me an hour – I need to soak in a hot bath first.’ The thought of Christie soaking in a hot bath yards away from him roused Daniel’s insides.
‘Right you are,’ called Dermot as he made his way back downstairs.
*
It was no surprise they were sat an hour later at the most secluded table for two, candle lit and with a bottle of champagne chilling on it. Dermot was pulling out the stops tonight, thought Christie with affection. Daniel poured the champagne and handed her a flute.
‘Cheers. Here’s to The Templar,’ he toasted.
Christie clinked her glass against his. ‘Cheers, and thanks again for all your help.’
‘My pleasure.’ He smiled. Christie wanted to leap across the table and kiss him. They shared a delicious cooked roast beef dinner and relaxed comfortably together. Christie became aware of Dermot glancing over and started to giggle.
